Chester Street Backpackers Christchurch

Finally have a chance to blog...so here comes a condensed version of our trip to date.I will expand on these tonight...lots to tell, as you can imagine!
Christchurch was a whirlwind trip, including the drive! We made our lunch which shaved off alot of time.
It was pouring with rain when we left Nelson, as well as a little chilly, so we wrapped up with an extra layer....funny because by the time we got to Murchison , it was ...

... my door. I dont think ill stay at a nicer place this whole trip.
Tomorrow is LOTR tour day- im getting picked up at my hotel then its off to the Southern Alps- im so excited!


Day Three

The weather this morning is awful and im a bit worried that the tour may be a wash out- its hailing!! I get picked up from my hotel by the tour guide in a customised Land Rover- it is amazing, massive tyres, exhaust that goes over the roof so it can go ...

... over the sea. It may be the first completely full rainbow I've ever seen but I was too wet to be bothered or take photos. I'd just paid quite a bit to do a 5hr rain walk. When I got back to the hostel, I did have the room to myself cos no kiwi bus had arrived that day. That was awesome. I forgot how good it is to sleep in a room on your own. I stayed 1 more night and then headed down the coast on my next Kiwi Bus. So far, I'd been in NZ for 6 days and ...

... modelled on Oxford apparently) with a river, cathedral, and tram. Had dinner at a slightly weird veggie/seafood cafe restaurant place called Dux Lux. Then some beer (brewed onsite too) + wine in their bar while watching rugby - Hereford bitter is nice.

... customs they ticked a few boxes and let us go through, without even asking yvette about her Koala experience, she was disapointed not to be interogated and go through biohazard cleaning. Went to the tourist information stand and literally filled a rucksack with brochures and leaflets. Got a shuttle bus to Tranquil lodge. It was so tranquil that there were no staff. We were given a room by phone and set out to explore Christchurch. First impressions were not good. It ...

... named Bobbi. She was friendly and talked about the bakery and the difficulties of running a Kosher establishment in New Zealand (the only one on the south island). They have to bring in most ingredients from outside of the country as there is no Kosher authority in New Zealand. We bought a Borekas, a bread and some lemonade and headed out.

... which is a problem when you have unknowingly learnt to go at a pace. Whilst I had lessons, Toby went off and skied up in the clouds and we retired mid afternoon as the weather set in and the snow gets a bit mushy by this point. Day 2 and we arrive before my lesson so Toby can give me some guidance on the nursery slopes, I was feeling fairly confident at this stage. So off I go, to show Toby what I can do, but I couldn't control the speed and wasn't able to apply my snow ...